Leicester Tigers flanker Craig Newby will be sidelined until the end of the year after undergoing surgery on his knee.

The 31-year-old, who led the Tigers into last year's Aviva Premiership Final where they were beaten by Saracens, has gone under the knife to repair what the club's director of rugby Richard Cockerill called "wear and tear".

"Craig played 29 games for us last season and did a superb job as a starter and as a captain," Cockerill told the Leicester Mercury. "Because of who we had out injured for long periods of the season, he probably played more rugby than we would have ideally liked. He has got a bit of wear and tear on his knee and he needs surgery to repair it. He is likely to be out until December."

Cockerill admitted that the loss of Newby would be a blow especially as he is set to be without more than a dozen other players for the start of the season due to the Rugby World Cup including back-row forwards Thomas Waldrom, Tom Croft ( both England) and Steve Mafi (Tonga). "Craig was superb for us last season but he will be back and he will make a full recovery," said Cockerill.

In related news, Tigers flanker and second-rower Geoff Parling continues his recovery from knee-reconstruction surgery. The 27-year-old suffered the season-ending injury in the Premiership clash with Harlequins at Welford Road in November and subsequently had surgery to repair the ligament damage.